Special Feature
The King’s Home Equine Therapy Program strives to help residents and other participants develop needed skills and character traits, such as accountability, self-confidence, responsibility, problem-solving skills, and self-control. On December 1, they expanded the King’s Home’s Equine Therapy Program (King’s Stables), by dedicating a beautiful brand new blue and tan Morton Barn boasting gorgeous woodwork with a 120ft long welcoming front porch with ceiling fans and benches. King’s Home has dedicated their new barn at King’s Stables as “The Morton Family Barn” in honor of beloved donors, the Morton Family. The family includes Barry and Catherine Morton along with their adult children Lynn Morton Schrago, Bill Morton, Katherine Morton Gurley, Mary Dorothy Morton, and Catherine’s parents Mary and Bob Byrd of Mobile.
Due to their generous donation which provided the new expansion of King’s Home’s Equine Therapy Program, King’s Stables has a beautiful brand new blue and tan Morton Barn that features a 12 stall horse barn including one birthing stall. Each stall has an automatic watering bowl, rubber floor mats for easy cleaning and easy access feed pan and hay rack accessible from the barn corridor. The barn also features a lovely tack room and feed room with a working sink and counter. At the far end of the barn, you’ll find a fantastic wash stall with hot and cold water to better care for the horses. The barn is also home to a climate-controlled office and classroom with kitchenette and ice maker, two ADA accessible bathrooms, and 20 parking bays including one ADA van accessible spot.
“Our family has always had a heart for ministry groups working with children and it’s always a blessing when we visit a King’s Home facility. We’re so thankful for the faithful leadership of John Hall as the project manager and the beautiful woodwork by Chris Waldren,” said Catherine Morton. “We know that spending time with God’s creation in a beautiful setting is the greatest therapy and this barn will make a great impact on many lives at King’s Home.”
In 2012, King’s Home welcomed a new program called King’s Stables, which serves as the Equine Therapy Program for the residents of King’s Home and other nonprofit partners. The program has substantially expanded since its beginning, and with the opening of the barn today, future growth plans are on the horizon. Currently there are over 100 participants in the program with an average of 80 sessions each month. These include King’s Home residents, nonprofits, homeschool groups, community members, and volunteers. The program which includes therapeutic riding, equestrian education, camps, and more is led by Callie Smelley and Kelly Bloomfield, Co-Managers, and Instructors at King’s Stables. “The Morton Family’s generous gift is a lasting legacy that God will use to transform lives of abused youth, moms, and kids at King’s Home plus many others for decades to come,” said Lew Burdette, President, King’s Home. Read more about King’s Home here. †
